«I continue to follow with dismay the situation in the Middle East, as well as in other regions of the world torn by war and these conflicts». Pope Leo states forcefully at the end of the Angelus recitation. The violence of conflicts says the Pope: «It hurts all of humanity. The death and pain caused by these wars are a scandal for the entire human family and a cry before God. I strongly renew the appeal to persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths of peace finally open based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person. Today the Great Marathon takes place in Rome, with many athletes from all over the world. This is a sign of hope. May sport trace paths of peace, social inclusion and spirituality.”
Previously, during the commentary on the Gospel of the fifth Sunday of Lent, dedicated to the Resurrection of Lazarus, the Pope had invited us not to be distracted by the ephemeral. «This is a sign that speaks of Christ’s victory over death and the gift of eternal life that we receive with baptism. Today Jesus also says to us, as to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, I am the resurrection and the life.”
«It is in the risen Christ, victor over death and living in us through the grace of baptism, that many events find their fulfillment for our salvation and fullness of life. His grace illuminates this world which seems to be in constant search of novelty and change, even at the cost of sacrificing important things, time, energy, values, affections, as if fame, material goods, entertainment, ephemeral relationships could fill our hearts or make us immortal. It is the symptom of a need for the infinite that each of us carries within us, the answer to which however cannot be entrusted to what passes. Nothing finite can quench our interior thirst, because we are made for God and we do not find peace until we rest in Him. The story of the resurrection of Lazarus, then, invites us to listen to this profound need and, with the strength of the Holy Spirit, to free our hearts from habits, conditioning and ways of thinking which, like boulders, lock us in its age of selfishness, materialism, violence and superficiality. In these places there is no life, but only confusion, dissatisfaction and loneliness. Jesus also shouts to us, come out, urging us to go out, regenerated by his grace, from such narrow spaces to walk in the light of love, as new women and men, capable of hoping and loving on the model of His infinite charity, without calculations and without measure”.
